AfDB creates new infrastructure marketplace for Africa

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has teamed up with an international software company - the Zambato Group - to create a new infrastructure project marketplace for Africa that will allow funders, constructions firms and government bodies to share information on proposed projects much more effectively.

The platform is expected to boost both private investment and infrastructure development across the continent and will help to identify resources, create a concrete list of regional infrastructure initiatives and foster better links between project backers and those that implement them.

Bobby Pittman, vice president for infrastructure and private sector development at the AfDB said that it was delighted to be working on the innovative project, stating: "The AfDB has financed more than 150 infrastructure projects over the last five years alone.

"Sokoni now gives us an even more systematic way of promoting and sharing these opportunities with other donors and global investors."

AfDB has been investing heavily in a number of key infrastructure projects across the continent and recently offered a total of $365 million (£228 million) in loans to Eksom to develop two renewable energy projects in South Africa.